NEW DELHI, April 27 — An Indian court ordered the former chief organiser of the Delhi Commonwealth Games into police custody yesterday, as police stepped up a crackdown on businesses and government officials in a string of corruption cases to hit the emerging global giant.

Federal police on Monday arrested Suresh Kalmadi, a senior lawmaker who has been suspended from the ruling Congress party, charged with cheating in tenders for timing equipment worth millions of dollars in the October sporting event. Police will hold him for eight days from yesterday.

The case is one of several high-profile corruption scandals to strain the Congress party-led government and spark protests in the Indian capital against what is seen as a culture of near impunity for the country's elite.

In a separate case, a court deferred a decision on whether to grant bail to five executives charged with manipulating the sale of telecoms licences in collusion with senior officials in the ruling coalition.

New Delhi may have been deprived up to US$39 billion (RM116.82 billion) in lost revenue due to the flawed awarding of second-generation mobile telecom licences, a state auditor has said.

Kalmadi, who has become a pantomime villain in the Indian media, had a sandal thrown at him as he made his way to a court yesterday. He has denied any wrongdoing and his lawyer called the arrest "illegal".

"The accused person entered into a criminal conspiracy to cheat the government of India in the manner of awarding contracts for timings, scoring and results system to be acquired for the CWG, Delhi 2010," V.K. Sharma, a federal police lawyer for the prosecution, told the court on Tuesday.

The US$6 billion event was billed as India's answer to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but descended into rows over leaking stadiums, filthy athletes' rooms and corruption scandals.

Kalmadi's aides formed a tight phalanx around the lawmaker from the western city of Pune as he walked out of the court and the judge sat down to write the order. A female aide shouted to him: "God is with us". Rows of police armed with batons roped a path for Kalmadi to come in and out of the courtroom.

Months of relentless headlines about corruption scandals and a vocal political opposition have roiled the government, rattled investors and put the brakes on ambitious economic reforms in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's second term.

The Congress party suspended Suresh Kalmadi on Monday after he was charged with favouring a Swiss firm to provide 1.4 billion rupees (RM93.26 million) worth of timing equipment to the Games.

Kalmadi, who was booed at the Games' opening ceremony in front of a global TV audience in October, had his constituency office in Pune vandalised by a gang of angry youths on Monday night.

On Tuesday, onlookers shouted a mix of support and abuse as Kalmadi emerged from the court.

TELECOMS CASE

In an adjacent courtroom, former Telecoms Minister Andimuthu Raja was seen slumped over a table as a case over the sale of telecoms licences and spectrum continued on Tuesday.

Raja, along with executives from telecoms firms and the daughter of the leader of a regional party that is a key government ally, have been charged in the telecoms licence case.

In another courtroom, a Delhi high court judge deferred a hearing on the bail applications of senior officials from Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) Group and the Indian joint ventures of Norway's Telenor and the UAE's Etisalat until Friday at the earliest.

Their bail plea was rejected by a lower court last week after federal police said the executives could abscond or try to influence witnesses. They will be held in jail pending the trial or until they are granted bail. All those on trial in the telecoms case deny wrongdoing.

Federal police on Monday added more names to their charge sheet in the telecoms case, including the lawmaker daughter of the chief minister of Tamil Nadu state. She was accused of taking bribes routed via a TV channel owned by her family.

The case could potentially threaten Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's ruling coalition and provoke a popular backlash in ongoing state elections, including in Tamil Nadu, where Congress is allied to the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party.

The DMK threatened to pull ministers from the coalition if members of the chief minister's family were charged, according to media reports.

The DMK will meet in the state capital, Chennai, on Wednesday to discuss their coalition with the Congress party, a spokesman for the party told the NDTV news channel.

The DMK had also threatened to withdraw from the government in March in a row over seat-sharing arrangements in the Tamil Nadu election, for which results are out on May 13.

However, analysts question whether the DMK would act on such a threat, given that it needs Congress's clout in the state as much as Congress needs the DMK's 18 seats to maintain its federal majority. Congress could also look to other smaller parties to prop up its coalition. — Reuters

OLE! Ramos demonstrates his skills with a bullfighter's cape after Real won the Copa del Rey

MADRID: Rightback Sergio Ramos told Real Madrid fans to "score the first goal" in their firstleg semifinal against Barcelona at Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday (2.45am).

Real go into the clash in buoyant mood after beating Barca 1-0 in the Copa del Rey final last week before a much-changed side enjoyed a 6-3 thrashing of Valencia in the Primera Division on Saturday.

But Ramos warned the Champions League tie would be another matter and urged Real fans to create a big atmosphere at the Bernabeu.

"It's the fans who have to score the first goal for us. Every visiting side at the Bernabeu have to be wary of the atmosphere. They must really be aware of what it means to play at a stadium like ours," he said.

Despite the massive win over Valencia, Real remain eight points behind Barca in the Primera Liga table and this means the Champions League is their more realistic chance of another trophy this season as manager Jose Mourinho bids to guide a third club to European football's biggest prize.

Ramos said the way the team performed in Valencia despite Mourinho making nine changes with Thursday's match in mind shows the unity in the squad as they focus on their goals.

"It is more united than ever. We are all extremely excited about the times we are living. The Champions League is a very important competition and it is at stake for us. Now is when we must show everyone how excited we are."

But Ramos is making no bold predictions of victory, admitting instead to a genuine excitement about the fixture.

"Both Barca and Real have great players and no one knows what will happen," he said.

"We all know of the responsibility we have and what it takes to defend these crests. We will have to give our all to win."

Meanwhile, midfielder Kaka believes Real have the most important resource of them all ahead of the clash with Barca — manager Mourinho.

Kaka hails the Portuguese and feels he could make all the difference on Thursday.

"I'm happy. I feel good. Mourinho has been 10 (out of 10), he has been very good to me. He has been helping me a lot. He is using me well and I am available to lend a hand," he told the Brazilian Press.

Kaka is no stranger to Champions League success having played in two finals with his former team AC Milan.

He lost in 2005 but two years later he won the competition with the Italian giants, and once again faces another important discourse in the battle for Europe.

"It was a big week. My birthday, two goals, the birth of my daughter. The season finale is still very good. We have won a title (Copa del Rey) and now we measure ourselves against Barca twice in the Champions League.

BARCELONA: Midfield ace Andres Iniesta is ready to take the offensive for Barcelona in their first-leg semifinal clash against bitter rivals Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday as he eyes taking a big step towards the Wembley final.

"I don't dream of scoring legendary goals, but I dream of being at Wembley," said Iniesta.

"I don't care about scoring goals or not being able to play, as long as we get to the final. Now our only thoughts are these. The team are not thinking of anything else."

The 26-year-old World Cup winner with Spain, believes his side have options and advantages which could mount to obtaining a coup against newly-crowned Copa del Rey winners.

"We'll win because we do not do anything else. We should not look at Real but only ourselves," he said.

"We have to counter their strengths. There are many circumstances and it will depend on how the game goes. We must remember that there are 180 minutes to play for.

"We will play with a positive mindset and with the knowledge that we are not far from the final."

Barca central defender Gerard Pique says the Copa del Rey loss to Real Madrid last week does not mark the end of a cycle for the Spanish champions.

"Losing the cup final against Real was very hard for us as we disappointed a lot of fans. However, losing is part of the game and you have to accept that these things happen," Pique told El Pais.

"This is by no means the end of a cycle though. We might have lost the Copa final, but we're still sitting in pole position to win Primera Liga. And we'll take on Real again in the semifinals of the Champions League. It's competitions like this that really mark a cycle.

"I really like playing at the Bernabeu. I can't explain why, but I really enjoy a hostile crowd. There are players out there who fail to cope with jeers from the crowd, but it only motivates me.

MOSCOW (AP): Figure skating's top athletes take to the ice for the world championships a month later than they'd expected and in a different country.

The championships' hasty relocation to Moscow from Tokyo after Japan's catastrophic earthquake has been a challenge to every skater's training schedule. But for some, it's also brought an additional jolt of motivation.

"I feel like, OK, I can do it and I have to do something for the people who are living ... in Japan," says Miki Ando, a top contender for women's gold. "So many people can't have a normal life any more, and so many people died, or they don't know where they are still, so I feel like I couldn't be like normal. But after so many people were telling me and so many people were sending (messages) to me 'go forward' ... they push me to feel better to skate." After two days of qualification rounds, the championships open Wednesday at the Megasport Arena with the men's short program.

"I don't want to think about what happened in Japan. But to show everything I can do here is the best thing I can do for everybody," said defending men's champion Daisuke Takahashi of Japan. "I'd like to give joy and hope to the people with my skating."

The championships originally were to have started March 21 in Tokyo, and the ensuing uncertainty and rescheduling left most skaters wobbling with doubt and anxiety about how to train.

"When we knew about Tokyo and Russia I was very tired, and it was very difficult to come back on the ice again to get ready for the world championship," said Brian Joubert of France, a bronze medalist at the last two worlds.

But most appear to have adjusted. "I think we're all in the same boat, on the same playing field," said Canada's Patrick Chan, the reigning silver medalist. "It feels like a world championship, like it always does."

Japanese fans seeking consolation through the beauty and power of skating will have much to watch in this championships. Mao Asada is defending her title and Ando, the 2007 world champion, aims for another gold.

Ando recently has appeared to be resurgent, defeating Asada in the Four Continents and in the Japanese national championships.

Both, meanwhile, face the challenge of South Korea's Kim Yu-na, the Olympic gold medalist; the worlds is Kim's first competition of this season.

American Alissa Czisny, who won this season's Grand Prix Final, is also in the mix, along with countrywoman Rachel Flatt and three-time European champion Carolina Kostner.

Takahashi is joined by two other strong Japanese in the men's competition, Nobunari Oda and Takahiko Kozuka, who took silver and bronze respectively at the Grand Prix Final. The U.S. entries are national champion Ryan Bradley, Ross Miner and Richard Dornbush.

The pairs competition features defending champions Pang Qing and Tong Jian of China, challenged by world silver medalist Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany.

In ice dancing, Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White, the reigning silver medalists, are in strong position to take the country's first-ever world gold in the discipline. They face Olympic and world champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada, but Virtue has been troubled since surgery last fall and the couple withdrew in the Four Continents, their only competition of the season.

Russia, a longtime figure skating power, offers a comparatively underwhelming field for these championships. Its top medal contenders are Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov, the defending world bronze pair.

Home-country fans also will be closely watching several young skaters who hold promise for Russian glory when the country hosts the 2014 Olympics: Artur Gachinski, whose technique is often likened to Evgeni Plushenko's, and Ksenia Makarova and Alena Leonova.

But if Russia's medal prospects are a bit dim this year, the country effectively has already won a gold for its swift organization of the championships, putting it all together in 31 days.

"I think its unbelievable that any country, any federation in four weeks can turn everything around so quickly; have hotels available with volunteers, a beautiful stadium, it's really unbelievable," said Alan Seabrook, chairman of Britain's National Ice Skating Association.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP): Lee Westwood hopes to put on a show in the Ballantine's Championship this week as the first No. 1-ranked golfer to play in South Korea.

Westwood reclaimed the top ranking from Martin Kaymer when he won the Indonesian Masters by three strokes in Jakarta on Sunday, his 38th birthday. Fellow Englishman Luke Donald could have overtaken Westwood hours later at the Heritage, but lost the U.S. PGA Tour event in a playoff.

"It's nice to get back to No. 1. I played well last week and my confidence is high," Westwood said on Tuesday.

"I've great expectations of myself and I hope to do well and win this championship on Sunday afternoon. I'm very much looking forward to the tournament and hopefully I'll give the galleries plenty to cheer about in the coming days."

Westwood shot 68-66-66-69 on Royale Jakarta for his seventh win in Asia, and was keen to pull off consecutive wins.

"The world rankings are all about consistency and playing well week-in and week-out, which I tend to do," he said. "The secret to being world No. 1 is having the consistency, and all parts of your game have to be good to do that."

The Ballantine's, co-sanctioned by the Asian and European Tours and the Korean PGA, has moved from Jeju Island to Blackstone Golf Club in Icheon, outside Seoul but will feature its strongest field yet.

Local hopes for a first Korean winner are carried mainly by Y.E. Yang, the 2009 U.S. PGA champion.

"My message to my Korean fans is this: I don't play that often in Korea," said Yang, who hails from Jeju.

"I come maybe every six months, in spring and autumn, and I think the best way to reward them is a win. I always try to do my best whenever I compete and I'll do the same again this week."

Also entered are Ernie Els, Ian Poulter, Miguel Angel Jimenez, 2009 winner Thongchai Jaidee, and highly rated Korean Noh Seung-yul, 19, who finished fourth in 2010 and went on to become the youngest winner of the Asian Tour's Order of Merit.

Els has finished in the top 10 in the past two Ballantine's.

"They get a number of really good players, so if you can win, you've beaten a really good field," Els said. "I would love to win, especially on a new course."

NATIONAL striker Safee Sali is making waves with Pelita Jaya in the Indonesian Super League.

Safee, who signed a one-year contract with Pelita, has scored five goals in eight appearances so far for his new club.

The 27-year-old now enjoys iconic status in Indonesian football after his exploits with Pelita.

"I am so famous that football fans in Indonesia want a piece of me. I can't even walk down the street without someone recognising me," said Safee, after being appointed ambassador of Tune Talk, in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

"I'm recognised wherever I go. Fans come up to me wanting autographs and pictures. It's difficult sometimes but I like the attention."

Safee, whose contract with Pelita is until next February, said his current stint in Indonesia has helped him improve his playing skills.

"The Indonesian Super League is tough because it has so many good foreign players. Even the local players are great, and I've become a better player.

"The league is more competitive than the M-League. Although I've scored five goals so far, I am not too happy with my performance. I want to contribute more for my club in the remaining six matches before the season ends in June," said Safee, who was instrumental in Malaysia winning the AFF Cup last December.

Safee, however, is now in a fix as Pelita are not keen to release the striker for international duty on June 3.

The FA of Malaysia has unofficially included Safee for the friendly against Hong Kong in preparation for the World Cup Asia Zone Qualifiers.

Pelita have a crucial tie against Persija two days after the international friendly.

"I am aware of it but I am leaving it to FAM to negotiate my release. Right now, I have not received anything official from national coach K. Rajagobal," he said.

"But I also understand Pelita's predicament as they need my services for the important match."

Safee also hinted he may return to don Selangor colours in the Malaysia Cup after the completion of the Indonesian Super League in June.

Chong Wei is not expected to face problems advancing in the absence of fierce rival Lin Dan.

LEE Chong Wei and men's doubles Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong have a common goal -- to win the India Open which begins in New Delhi today -- but they are likely to take contrasting paths to achieve their goals.

Chong Wei is not expected to face problems advancing in the absence of fierce rival Lin Dan of China which should make the Malaysian's task easier.

The World No 1 has an easy opener against the host nation's Ajay Jayram before an expected encounter with old foe Lee Hyun Il of South Korea.

Hyun Il, although past his prime, could still provide some resistance but in all probability does not have what it takes to pull off an upset.

Chong Wei should also overcome the hard-working Kenichi Tago of Japan in an expected last eight clash.

Boonsak Ponsana is expected to be Chong Wei's semi-final opponent but the Thai is not in the same class as the World No 1.

Peter Gade Christensen of Denmark and Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat should battle it out to earn the right to meet Chong Wei in the final. Neither is expected to trouble the two-time All England champion in the title match.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong are the only pair from the world's top five competing in India but going by their recent inconsistent form, even lesser known pairs can trouble the World No 3.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong, who have a first-round bye, should beat Attri Manu-Jishnu Sanyal of India in the second round but a quarter-final showdown against Yoshiteru Hirobe-Kenta Kazuno of Japan or South Koreans Cho Gun Woo-Kwon Yi Goo could prove tricky.

If they survive, they then come up against the in-form Hirokatsu Hashimoto-Noriyasu Hirata in the last four.

The Japanese pair upset Olympic champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia in the Badminton Asian Championships in Chengdu last week, and this match could determine Kien Keat-Boon Heong's chances of securing the title.

Indonesian second seeds Muhammad Ahsan-Bona Septano could turn out be a banana skin for Kien Keat-Boon Heong in the final but the Malaysians cannot afford to slip up if they wish to end their 15-month title drought in Open tournaments.